Driving The Cape

After a leisurely start to the day (a little too leisurely as we were almost too late) we picked up the car! It was another gorgeous hot day in Cape Town so we decided to hit the beach for the first time. We headed to Camps Bay which is where all the trendy bars & restaurants are, grabbed some lunch & laid in the setting sun for an hour or so. The beaches are lovely, although it wasn’t that hot & you can definitely tell it’s Spring as the water is FREEZING!! Ice cold, so not exactly perfect beach conditions!

Sunday we were invited to a baby shower! The guy who Tymon had MC’d with (Neil) is expecting his first baby in about a week & was having a family gathering in a park. We thought it was in Cape Town so didn’t think we’d have a problem when we booked tickets for Robben Island on the Saturday for Sunday afternoon. However, when we found out it was in a town called Muizenberg which is half way down the Cape peninsular we realized that we wouldn’t make it there & back in time so had to change the tickets. Thankfully they didn’t charge us extra like we had been told, & off we headed to the baby shower. It was perfect timing really as we had been planning on heading down the peninsular anyway to Cape Point.

On arrival it was a real family affair & it was so lovely of Neil to have invited us. His family were so friendly & made us feel at home immediately. It was great to be mixing with a typical South African family going about their general business. They made us feel so welcome & the mother in laws were a fountain of knowledge & information. They shared their experiences & thoughts on the apartheid & the new president & the state of SA today & how it affects their daily lives. Neil & his family are ‘coloureds.’ (You’ve got ‘the blacks’ – who are the African influx, ‘the coloureds’ – who are basically the indigenous people made up of all races due the slave trade back in the day & ‘the whites’ – the Boers who were Dutch who basically are the reason for the state of SA & its history! The European’s are single handedly to blame for the mess in SA, especially the Dutch Boers (farmers) who came with their religious beliefs that whites are the only race that should be on this planet!)

While life for Neil & his family is not hard by any means the older members certainly are inspiring & I felt privileged listening to their stories of how it was for them during the apartheid.

As the days have gone by here in SA I am becoming more & more bowled over by the fact that this country is based on race. Everything about it screams division of the races - still…so many years on. Even Tymon & I get funny looks for being a mixed race couple. While I’ve certainly seen some poverty stricken countries before when on my travels in South America, I have never come across a country so one sided in the poverty.

I have not seen one white person working. You will not find a white person working in a hostel or hotel (as a cleaner I mean), in a restaurant or in a supermarket. Nor will you will find a white person patrolling the streets looking after the cars or selling the big issue or African memorabilia at the traffic lights. They are all black or coloureds. Mostly the Africans.

Did you know that during the apartheid 14% was the amount of land in SA ‘the blacks’ were allowed to be on while they actually made up 80% of the population? Did you also know that they were made to carry around with them a Dom Pas which means Stupid Pass? I know all over the world there was a racial awakening that took many years and many fights to overcome but this, here in SA in truly unbelievable. It’s history can stop you in your tracks when you hear about it all. Especially for someone like me who only takes the time to learn this stuff or really even acknowledge it once I am travelling & immersed in a place. I knew nothing about the history of SA or the apartheid – an embarrassing statement to make, but a true one.

Anyway, it’s not all doom & gloom! :0) After the baby shower we headed a bit further down the peninsular to Simon's Town which is where we were staying for the night. It’s the naval base of Cape Town & a lovely sleepy little town. We arrived quite late & I was exhausted. I’ve been developing some sort of cold over the last few days, so what with that & a few sleepless nights I was feeling pretty crappy & we were lucky to find a place to eat that night when we headed out after my nap!

Yesterday was an early start as we had a lot to cram in. First stop, the penguin colony at Boulders Beach. It’s basically was it says on the tin – a beach with a colony of penguins. Very smelly, but worth the trip.

Next – the drive to Cape Point which is the very end of the Cape Peninsular. A very nice coastal drive into the National Park & then vast amounts of rough land. We were even lucky enough to see a family of ostrich with a little baby – soooo cute! We took a brisk walk up the steep hill to the top to the lighthouse where the views were beautiful. A full 9,533 (or something like that) to Amsterdam!

After that we headed back to CT to catch the boat to Robben Island. Now, Robben Island – what can I say? Ok – so VERY touristy – but soooo worth the visit, especially to listen to the talk given to you in the maximum security prison by an ex prisoner. What a life he has lead. Our guide had been recruited in Angola to join & later train the armed special forces to go on secret political missions. Of course in this time he came privy to highly powerful information & was arrested whilst on a secret misson in SA & incarcerated in 1986 on Robben Island. He was sentenced to 18 years, although in the end due to negotiations by high powered associates he only served 5!

You only get to see the island from a tourist filled bus so you don’t really get the feel of things and even though there is a community living on the island made up of people working on there, it still presents an eery emptiness & humbles you when you think of the political champions & their endurance on that island.

After returning the to the mainland we got in the car & headed out to Stellenbosch – the winelands!! Oh yeah! We arrived last night – after a very stressful drive. It was only stressful once we were in town trying to find the hostel as it was pitch dark & as we found out this morning, the street names are on the floor!! Helpful!! So you can imagine the atmosphere between us what with me feeling ill & Tymon with no nicotine patch in a stressful situation! Haha!! But we finally found it, pitched the tent & found a great little pub in town where we got a stiff drink & curry!

This morning we awoke to rain as it has been getting colder but now the rain is here. We decided to chill today as it’s been a rather hectic 6 days staying in a different hostel each night & constantly on the move so we’re here for 3/4 days which is nice. I have felt like poooooo! And to my horror it’s hayfever!! So not only have I already suffered once this year in Spring in NL I have to go through it again in Spring here too!! Typical! Got some tablets so fingers crossed that should keep it at bay. I also had hardly any sleep again as my air mattress kept deflating! It’s only the second time I’ve used it so I couldn’t believe there would be a puncture but low & behold we tested it this morning & the whole bottom of the mattress was busted with holes all over the place!! So that was good money down the drain! Luckily there’s a camp store in town so we went & got another one. So fingers crossed I’ll have a better night tonight.

So that brings me up to date. I’m sitting here in the hostel, wearing my thermals as it’s bloody cold!! Tymon has just got the braai (BBQ) going & I have a bacardi & coke in hand. Later I’ll be looking at the wine estates to choose where to go tomorrow. So....I’ll write again after we’ve spent a few drunken days in the winelands!!

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Eeehh ooohhh (African speak for anything!) Lols
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